It had started as something simple
by Mairalynn
Summary: That's right, Rita Skeeter had predicted it all. The great downfall of Harry Potter would not come at the hands of Voldemort, but of a broken heart at the hands of his best friend.


It had started as something simple. A friendship, and he was her best friend in the entire world. Hermione Granger, best friend of Harry Potter, had realised that her crush on Ron had gone away some time ago. They simply weren't right for each other, they were both too explosive, too quick to anger. But she only realised that after he left. After he left with a few jealous words. She couldn't help but mope a little. Her friend had just _abandoned_ them. He had abandoned her. After she disabled the wards around where they were staying, then quickly apparated both of them somewhere else. Somewhere far from there. And she sat on a rock and stared off in the distance, willing the tears not to come. She didn't need them right now, what she needed to focus on was getting some wards up and making sure the camp was set up. Before she could get up to put up some wards, she felt a light hand touch her back and a head rest on her shoulder. She turned her head a bit and smiled at the messy black hair of her best friend.

"He'll be back, Hermione." the thumb on her back moved, catching the small of her back as it went down. She rested her head on his.

"I know. It's just the fact that he had to be such a prat about leaving that gets me. But at least I still have you."

He chuckled a little bit. "We couldn't survive without you, Mione. I know I couldn't."

She lifted her head off of his and glanced at his head, vaguely confused. "I'm sure you could survive without me."

He lifted his head off of her shoulder and looked at her with raised eyebrows. "Mione, I would have died back in first year without your help. God knows what I would do without you."

She made a noise in the back of her throat. She didn't want to think about Harry dying. It hurt just thinking about it. She quickly leaned over and hugged him. She released a shuddering breath, feeling the pain from her thoughts go away. He was here. He was here. He was…. The mantra repeated itself in it's head and she put her head against his shoulder, closing her eyes. Maybe she deserved a little nap.

Harry looked down upon the witch a few minutes later with a smile. She seemed younger when she was sleeping. He carried her over to where his bed was, as his was closer, and laid her down. He looked at her sleeping form and sighed. She looked almost angelic. And he really needed to figure out where his heart lay, so he headed out and sat on the rock. He would wait for her to wake up, and then he could sleep. But first he had some feelings to make out.

Hermione, meanwhile, was in bliss. She was having a wonderful dream.

' _Dance with me' a hand stuck out towards hers, she grabbed it and all of a sudden she was dancing._

' _I love you, you know that?' she whispered as she pressed herself closer to the man._

' _I do. And I love you as well, my love.' the man's rumbling voice echoed in her ear._

' _Please choose me. After all of this, it's only what I deserve. You are all that I will ever need. I need no fortune, just you. And maybe a child someday. Please.' she heard herself whisper._

' _I can not make any promises Hermione. I love you with my whole heart, always.' she felt a kiss on her temple as he spun her around again, and Hermione felt herself come back to consciousness._

She sat up, and looked around. It was around twilight, and there was no one else in the tent. And she was in Harry's bed. So that must mean…. She hurriedly got up out of bed, grabbing her wand from her wand holster on her arm, and went outside. There she came face to face with Harry, who was heading inside to see if she had woken up because of the sounds she made getting up.

"Hey, I know you're probably tired, but will you at least keep watch while I set up the wards. Please?" She put on her best puppy dog eyes and grabbed his hands. He laughed and allowed her to lead him outside, where he proceeded to sit on the rock and watch her as she put up some wards.

He loved them both, Hermione and Ginny. And while he had broken it off with Ginny before he left, he wasn't sure of Hermione. Sure, she was his best friend, but could she ever see him as anything else?

He loved seeing her in his bed. Even though there was nothing to make it his bed, he had claimed it, and just knowing that she was in _his_ bed, just gave him a sense of pride. No matter that he was the person who put her there, she was still _there_. She seemed so peaceful in sleep, one could never guess that she was the most passionate and feisty of the three. Sure she had brains, that was what she was most known for, but she was also the most feisty, passionate, and loyal girl he had ever met. And that was what attracted him to her. That was what made him love her. That's right, Rita Skeeter had predicted it all. The great downfall of Harry Potter would not come at the hands of Voldemort, but of a broken heart at the hands of his best friend. As if hearing she was being thought about, she suddenly appeared in front of him. Her forehead was sweaty and she reached up to wipe away the sweat with her hand.

"It always seems to take a bit away from me, the wards. Such powerful magic, and since my magic hasn't fully matured yet, it drains me a bit." She smiled sheepishly and looked away from him.

"Yours hasn't matured yet?" He nearly whispered, awed. Hermione was one of the most powerful people his age. If her magic hasn't matured yet, she would be the most powerful person since Dumbledore. And although he may have passed more recently, Dumbledore was still an incredibly powerful person.

"Er, no. Most of our classmate's have though. Your's probably has, since you turned seventeen. My magic is still growing, which apparently is unnatural. But as long as it stops growing within three years, I should be fine." Hermione had a pretty blush on her cheeks, as she said this and it almost drew his attention away from the words she was saying. He could spend hours tracing the lines of her freckles.

"Merlin, Hermione. You're going to be more powerful than you are now?" She nodded, the heat spreading down her neck. Harry followed where it went and had to quickly divert his eyes. "How is that even possible?"

"I don't know. I-" Harry couldn't take it anymore. His attention was constantly drawn to her lips as she talked, and he just leaned in and kissed her. And she froze. Of course she did. Because she would never see him as anything more than a friend. But he refused to give up until she pushed him away. So his heart started beating faster as her lips softened against his and she blindly pulled him up so that she didn't have to lean down. And they kissed. It was a no questions thing. They kissed, and it felt like heaven had reached them early. It was innocent, not the toe-curling passionate kisses described in her mother's romance novels. It was exactly like she pictured kissing Harry would be like. Absolutely amazing. At some point she moved closer and wrapped one arm around his waist and the other around his neck to thread her fingers through his hair. And he was holding her as if she would break, as if she was her mother's precious china that she had always longed to touch. At that moment they were just two people. Two people in the wide span of the universe, two people in a world full of people, and animals, and plants. And they were fine with that.


End file.
